An investigation of the relationship between psychological androgyny and components of self-concept.

Abstract

Male and female college students were subjects in a study done to clarify a current controversy in the literature on androgyny: whether the higher levels of self-esteem and self-concept of androgynous individuals are due to an integration of both masculine and feminine traits or due only to a high level of masculinity. Subjects completed the Bern Sex-Role Inventory and a semantic differential scale previously shown to assess four dimensions of the self-concept. The androgynous group scored higher than the undifferentiated group on adjustment, a measure of perceived homeostatic balance with the environment. The androgynous and masculine groups scored higher than the feminine and undifferentiated groups on achievement/leadership, which tends to reflect an instrumental role. Androgynous and feminine subjects scored higher than masculine and undifferentiated subjects on congeniality/sociability, which reflects an expressive role. The masculine and feminine groups scored at appropriate ends of the masculinity/femininity self-concept dimension, with the androgynous and undifferentiated groups at intermediate levels. The results are interpreted as supporting Bern's theory of androgynous flexibility. The utility of using multidimensional measures of personality is discussed.

Women and Anger: Sex and Sex-Role Comparisons in the Expression of Anger

“…When one considers the apparent link between anger and coronary heart disease, the androgynous individual's style of anger management may be most effective. The observed relationship of sex-role with anger expression seems consistent with the work of others who have found that sex-role type does have a significant impact on various aspects of an individual's mental health functioning (e.g., Bem, 1975Bem, , 1981Flaherty & Dusek, 1980;Shaw, 1982). A similar statement might now be appropriate relative to androgyny, effective anger management, and physical health.…”

Androgyny: A Goal for Counseling?

“…Other sex-role experts have defined androgyny in terms of how people classified as androgynous according to their selfdescriptions tend to respond in empirical studies. Compared to persons lacking the high masculinity/femininity combination, androgynous persons generally perform in a superior manner on a number of tasks related to overall personal adjustment (Flaherty & Dusek, 1980;Hinrichsen, Follansbee, & Ganellen, 1981), self-esteem (Baucom, 1980;Bem, 1977;Spence & Helmreich, 1979a;Wiggins & Holzmuller, 1978), and interpersonal confidence and skills (Campbell, Steffen, & Langmeyer, 1981;Kulik & Harackiewicz, 1979;Major, Carnevale, & Deaux, 1981;Stokes, Childs, & Fuehrer, 1981). The picture of androgyny that emerges from such studies, however, is not clear-cut.…”

Gender Differences: Examination of the 12-Item Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI-12) in an Older Brazilian Population

“…Androgynous men and women were postulated to be adaptive and therefore more likely to have better mental health and higher competence [7]. Some dispute the androgyny model [8,9] while others assert that androgyny exists, but reflects a developmental change [10]. …”